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News from the Media

AMHERST, Mass. – As maple sugaring season approaches, plant ecologist Kristina Stinson, assistant professor of environmental conservation at the University of Massachusetts Amherst, recently received a two-year, $149,800 grant to study the impact of climate change on the quantity and quality of sugar maple sap, including its chemical composition, and of sap from red maples, a species less sensitive to climate change. (Red Lake Nation News, 2/11/16; Phys.org, Recorder, Republican, 2/10/16; News Office release, 2/10/16)

State funding for free tick testing ran out in June, but now Cape Cod Healthcare is helping scientists continue efforts to track infected deer ticks on the Cape by underwriting the cost of tick testing at UMass through a grant to the Cape Cod Cooperative Extension program.

The $20,000 donation from the 2016 Community Benefits Annual Strategic Grants program will help reduce the cost of the tests from $50 per tick to $15 per tick, said UMass microbiologist Stephen Rich. It runs through September. (Cape Cod Times 02/08/16)

Carolyn J. Demoranville, director of the Cranberry Experiment Station in Wareham, talks about how cranberry farmers are adjusting to the warm winter this year. She says growers traditionally flood their bogs in winter to protect the plants from damage. (Wicked Local Kingston, 2/1/16)

AMHERST, Mass. – University of Massachusetts Amherst food scientist Eric Decker has received a three-year, $469,775 grant to explore ways to improve the nutrition of foods high in saturated fats. Results should help food producers address recent new dietary guidelines recommending that Americans eat fewer of those fats to reduce heart disease risk. (1/13/16 UMass News Office)

Barnstable County's longest-serving employee retired

January 3, 2016

Barnstable County’s longest serving employee retired January 1 after nearly four decades on the job.

William “Bill” Clark, 65, executive director of the Cape Cod Cooperative Extension, has spent virtually his entire career — 38 years — working with the education and research arm of the county. He passed the torch of leadership to his deputy director, Michael Maguire. (12/24/15 Cape Cod Times)

Two teams of international researchers led by Om Parkash, agriculture biotechnologist at the Stockbridge School of Agriculture, and Richard Peltier, environmental health sciences, have been awarded funding from the Worldwide Universities Network (WUN) to initiate global projects designed to ultimately impact millions of people in the developing world. (12/22/15 UMass News Office)

Brook trout study identifies top climate change pressure factor

January 6, 2016

Ben Letcher, adjunct faculty in environmental conservation at the University of Massachusetts Amherst and ecologist at the U.S. Geological Survey, believes that a better understanding of the effects of climate change on Eastern brook trout may help the fish avoid an untimely demise. (1/5/16 Environmental Monitor)

The secret to making people care about climate change

January 5, 2016

Ezra Markowitz, assistant professor, Department of Environmental Conservation at the University of Massachusetts Amherst and co-author, Lisa Zava, Columbia University, research American attitudes about climate change and what can make a difference. Spoiler alert: Their legacy. (1/5/16 Washington Post)

The Secret to Making People Care About Climate Change

Ezra Markowitz, assistant professor in the Department of Environmental Conservation at the University of Massachusetts Amherst and co-author, Lisa Zaval, research people's attitudes about climate change. Considering their legacy can make a difference. (1/5/16 Washington Post)

The Secret to Making People Care About Climate Change

Ezra Markowitz, assistant professor in the Department of Environmental Conservation at the University of Massachusetts Amherst and co-author Lisa Zaval researched attidtudes towards climate change. Combining self-interest and our desire to help others in need suggests a promising way to shift attitudes and to consider their own future legacy. (1/4/16 Washington Post)